Pat Gelsinger is out, but the big questions remain
In context: Intel has been in play since reporting its disastrous June quarter. Despite turning in a decent quarter last month, the writing has been on the wall for several months that Gelsinger was under pressure. That pressure was coming from all directions – customers, partners, employees, and, not least, the Street. After the company reset guidance in July, the consensus across the financial community was that Intel had to be split in two, and increasingly that Gelsinger had to go.
The company's Altera programmable chips unit could be on the chopping block
In brief: Desperate times call for desperate measures at Intel. The once-dominant chipmaker is putting everything on the table as it scrambles to regain its footing in the AI era. According to sources familiar with the company's plans, CEO Pat Gelsinger and other top executives are preparing an ambitious proposal to streamline Intel's operations. This strategy, set to be presented to the board later this month, could see the company shedding entire business units and slashing capital expenditures.
Intel execs are accused of making "materially false and misleading" statements
What just happened? Things are going from bad to worse for Intel. In addition to the nightmare that is the Raptor Lake CPU crisis and the backlash over eliminating 15,000 jobs, the company is now being sued by shareholders over accusations it fraudulently concealed problems in its foundry business.
In advance of Intel's first event dedicated to their Foundry business, I had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with CEO Pat Gelsinger and talk about the company's strategic goals.
The big picture: Intel has ambitions to create a foundry business by manufacturing chips for other companies. This is an important strategic initiative that the company will need to recoup the massive investment it is now making in fabs around the world.